Hitler to Hiroshima_3of4_Pacific Theater 1
Transcript
00:001939-1941
00:07The German Army was defeated.
00:14The German Army was defeated.
00:21The German Army was defeated.
00:281939-1945
00:31The tyrants of the Axis Powers, Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo
00:35plunged the world into a brutal nightmare of relentless war.
00:40The world was engulfed in an epic struggle
00:43between the designs of tyranny and the will of freedom.
00:46The Axis Powers slaughtered, they silenced, and they subjected,
00:50and they would not stop until they fulfilled their maniacal dreams of world conquest.
00:56Freedom put up a fiercer fight than they had bargained for.
01:05The Japanese hungrily eyed China
01:07as the first victim in their conquest for world domination.
01:13China had 450 million people to enslave in endless raw materials.
01:20It would give the Japanese a powerful base from which to conquer the Pacific.
01:25Once they had the Pacific, they would invade the U.S.
01:29September 1931
01:31Using the false pretense of a Chinese attack on a Japanese railroad,
01:35Japanese forces seized control of Manchuria.
01:38In 1932, Manchuria would become Manchukuo.
01:42The Japanese installed the puppet governor Puyi,
01:45the last emperor of China, to do their bidding.
01:49July 7th, 1937
01:51Chinese and Japanese forces battled for the first time
01:54in what would later be known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.
01:58The world protested the Japanese aggression, but did not intervene.
02:03It is a matter of common knowledge
02:06that Japan's policy is fundamentally inspired by a genuine desire
02:14to guarantee peace in the Far East.
02:18The Japanese attacked Shanghai on August 13th, 1937.
02:24Expecting another swift victory, this time they encountered stiff resistance.
02:34It was not an incident like previous skirmishes.
02:37It was all over.
02:48The Chinese fought bravely to repel the invaders,
03:01but the Japanese increased the size of their military force.
03:05Tremendous casualties were inflicted on both sides.
03:09By November, the Chinese were in retreat.
03:13Insulted that they had actually been forced to fight,
03:16the Japanese took their revenge on the defenseless city of Shanghai,
03:20bombing it relentlessly and slaughtering thousands.
03:33Citizens ran panicked through the streets, seeking shelter,
03:37while the Japanese deliberately murdered them as a strategy of war.
03:47December, 1937.
03:49The Chinese armies withdrew to Nanking,
03:52where they defended the city against the invading Japanese forces.
04:00In mere days, the might of the Japanese war machine toppled the city.
04:06The city was besieged by the Japanese.
04:09The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:12The Japanese were forced to retreat.
04:15The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:18The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:21The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:24The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:27The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:30The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:33The Chinese were forced to retreat.
04:40Japanese soldiers raped, tortured and butchered the population.
04:46300,000 men, women and children perished.
04:53The rape of Nanking was to go down in history
04:55as one of the greatest atrocities of war the world had ever seen.
05:00By the end of 1937,
05:02the Chinese knew they had to do something radical to preserve their freedom.
05:06They decided to buy time.
05:08They blew up their railroads, their factories, they burned their fields.
05:13Then, in the greatest mass migration in human history,
05:17they relocated their entire society to the West.
05:2030 million people rode, walked and crawled across the country.
05:25Their schools, hospitals, the machines of their factories,
05:29all were carried across 2,000 miles of wilderness to the city of Chongqing.
05:37There they re-established their government
05:39and rebuilt their manufacturing capabilities.
05:43To protect themselves from the inevitable Japanese attack,
05:46they built their factories, schools and living quarters underground.
05:50Unable to reach Chongqing by land,
05:52the Japanese sent their bombers to level the city.
06:05The primitive Chinese air force was overwhelmed
06:08by the skill of the Japanese pilots and their superior planes.
06:20CHONGQING
06:36Wave after wave of Japanese bombers descended on the city.
06:50CHONGQING
06:55The devastating bombing of Chongqing created a massive firestorm
06:59that its poorly equipped citizens were defenseless against.
07:15The brutal attack on Chongqing triggered an event the Japanese had not foreseen.
07:19Nationalist troops under Chiang Kai-shek and communist forces under Mao Zedong
07:24bowed to necessity and formed an uneasy alliance.
07:28Together their armies began the fight to expel the Japanese.
07:35Aided by bands of guerrillas operating inside Japanese occupied territory,
07:39the war of resistance had begun.
07:44When supply lines to the interior were cut by the Japanese blockade,
07:48the Chinese made the decision to build a new route.
07:52It would connect Lashou in Burma to Kumming in China
07:55and became known as the Burma Road.
07:58Over the course of a full year,
08:00thousands of Chinese workers carved a supply line out of the treacherous mountain terrain.
08:07Trucks could now bring badly needed supplies into the Chinese heartland.
08:12In December 1941, the Japanese launched a coordinated attack on the city of Rangoon
08:17as the first step in their plan to conquer Burma and destroy the Burma Road.
08:23Facing overwhelming odds, General Joseph Stilwell and his combined allied forces retreated to India.
08:30They watched helplessly as the Japanese then moved on Mandalay and northern Burma.
08:37The Japanese attack on Burma was part of a larger plan
08:40to starve China into submission by cutting off vital supplies.
08:45In December of 1941, the Japanese further tightened the noose
08:49by attacking major port cities.
08:51Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong all fell to the Japanese onslaught.
08:57In January 1942, the Japanese drove inland with a force of 120,000 men
09:03to grab control of Chinese rice supplies and take the agricultural center of Chensha.
09:15The Chinese responded with 300,000 men.
09:20After three weeks of fierce fighting, the Japanese were forced to retreat.
09:36The battle for Chensha was the first major victory for the Chinese army
09:40The battle for Chensha was the first major victory for the Chinese army
09:43and sent a message of hope to the Chinese people.
09:47But hope was short-lived.
09:51By April 1942, the Burma Road was cut.
09:57China was now completely isolated from the outside world.
10:00Faced with this bleak state of affairs,
10:03the allied powers devised a bold plan to keep the Chinese supplied.
10:07They would fly supplies over the hump, the Himalayan mountains.
10:12Intrepid air transport command pilots flew thousands of tons of supplies over the hump.
10:17Despite the difficult terrain and the punishing climate,
10:20the risky plan to supply the Chinese troops by air was wildly successful.
10:25A plane took off from fields in India every six minutes,
10:28flying more supplies into China than had ever been brought in by truck over the Burma Road.
10:34With the Burma Road now destroyed,
10:36the task of opening a new pathway was given to General Joseph Stilwell.
10:41Under his command, construction of the Lido Road began,
10:44and troops from his newly formed Lido Force slowly pushed remnants of the Japanese occupation army eastward.
10:58Through the sacrifice of thousands, the road was completed
11:01and opened to convoy traffic.
11:04Untold tons of food, weapons, and equipment
11:07passed along the crucial supply line to keep the Chinese war machine running.
11:12The Lido Road was later renamed the Stilwell Road
11:15in honor of Vinegar Joe's role as its protector.
11:18Chinese armies, inadequately armed, have been fighting Japan since 1937.
11:24We are now doing what we can to supply them with arms and equipment
11:28so that they also may play their part in the eventual defeat of Japan.
11:33With the supply needs of the Chinese army met,
11:35the full frontal counteroffensive against Japan could begin.
11:39Slowly, the tide was turning.
11:42Ditched battles continued to be fought across all fronts
11:45as the Chinese pushed Japanese forces back towards the sea.
11:50In 1944, the Chinese and Allied armies moved to recapture a vital supply link,
11:55the city of Luchao.
11:57Japanese troops, outmatched, retreated to the east,
12:01but in one last act of vengeance,
12:03they destroyed the airstrip and set fire to the entire city.
12:13The liberation of Luchao put China one step closer to freedom.
12:28The surrender of Japan on August 14, 1945
12:32finally brought an end to the bloody occupation of China.
12:39The Japanese ruled the skies over China
12:42until the arrival of General Chennault and his Flying Tigers.
12:52The battle for China had been raging for more than two years,
12:55but America could not officially aid the Chinese without declaring war.
13:00General Claire Chennault was secretly tapped to create the American Volunteer Group,
13:05the AVG, to help the Chinese defend their cities from relentless Japanese bombing.
13:13The AVG was also tasked with protecting the Burma Road,
13:17the main supply route by which the U.S. could reliably deliver supplies to China.
13:23Three hundred volunteers were recruited from within the ranks of the U.S. Armed Forces
13:28to form the AVG,
13:37soon to be known as the Flying Tigers because of their distinctively painted P-40O.
13:44The Flying Tigers were schooled in revolutionary aerial combat techniques
13:49by the visionary aviator General Claire Chennault and quickly became a crack unit.
13:58The Tigers took on an enemy far superior in numbers.
14:01Most of the time they were outgunned 20 to 1.
14:04Often they had only enough ammunition for one minute of firing.
14:08For the Tigers, the odds meant nothing.
14:10Possessing some innovative techniques and a lot of guts,
14:14the Tigers made it seem like they were the ones with the overwhelming force.
14:18The sight of the Tiger teeth on the noses of their planes
14:22struck fear into the hearts of the Japanese.
14:25Japanese pilots knew that behind those teeth was a very talented pilot,
14:30each of whom would extract a very high price in zeroes.
14:35Over the course of seven months of fighting,
14:38the Flying Tigers shot down 452 Japanese planes,
14:42losing only 12 of their own in combat.
14:51When the Flying Tigers lost a pilot,
14:54their grief was tempered by knowing their combat was over.
14:59When the Flying Tigers lost a pilot,
15:01their grief was tempered by knowing their comrade
15:04had taken countless enemy pilots to the grave with him.
15:09When America officially entered the war,
15:11the aces of the Flying Tigers were rolled over into the American Air Force,
15:15officially becoming the 23rd Pursuit Squadron.
15:22One of the Tigers' most famous alumni,
15:24Lt. Col. Copy Bowington,
15:26created and commanded the infamous Black Sheep Squadron.
15:29Later in the war in the Pacific,
15:31Bowington was credited with destroying 94 enemy fighters
15:35in 12 weeks of aerial combat in the Solomon Islands.
15:40He went on to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic leadership.
15:45The Flying Tigers' incredible exploits
15:48lifted the spirits of both the Chinese and the Americans
15:51during the dark early days of the war in the Pacific.
16:13In 1941, Japan was at a crossroad.
16:16To continue its expansion across Asia,
16:19their military machine would need the raw resources of Southeast Asia.
16:24The single thing keeping them from their resources
16:26was the American Pacific Fleet.
16:30A plan was formed.
16:31Sink the U.S. Navy in one swift blow.
16:36By late October, secret training had begun
16:38using islands chosen for their resemblance to Pearl Harbor.
16:43For this daring plan to work, nothing could be left to chance.
16:47On November 16, 1941,
16:50Admiral Yamamoto ordered the Japanese fleet to prepare for action.
16:56One week later, the Japanese fleet,
16:58under the command of Vice Admiral Nagumo,
17:01sailed for Pearl Harbor under strict radio silence.
17:05For 12 days, they navigated through a veil of heavy weather and high seas,
17:09unseen by American patrol planes.
17:11Six Japanese aircraft carriers
17:13shuttled 441 fighters, torpedo bombers,
17:16dive bombers, and fighter bombers towards battle.
17:23Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C.,
17:25the Japanese envoy was busy petitioning the United States
17:28for mediation in the Far Eastern crisis.
17:41To make it a successful one
17:43was the sake of two countries,
17:45the birds and the United States.
17:49The morning of December 7, 1941,
17:52was a typical Sunday for the inhabitants of Oahu,
17:55relaxed and slow-moving.
17:57The military had been under a sabotage alert for 11 days.
18:01No one suspected an outright attack.
18:04The first sign that this day would be different
18:07came at 4.55 a.m.,
18:09when a two-man Japanese midget submarine
18:11was spotted off the coast and was sunk by the USS Ward.
18:15It would be one of many warnings of the impending attack
18:18that went unheeded.
18:20At 6 a.m. on December 7,
18:22the first wave of attack planes took off
18:24from the decks of the Japanese carriers.
18:40As the Japanese pilots drew within 100 miles of the island,
18:44an Army private manning a coastal radar station
18:47spotted the group approaching from the north.
18:51His superiors, thinking the incoming planes were Americans,
18:54dismissed his report.
19:00Thirty minutes later,
19:01Japanese pilots were on top of their first target,
19:04Hickman Field.
19:06They had remained unidentified
19:08until the attack had begun in earnest.
19:11Diving at the base,
19:12they dropped their first series of deadly bombs,
19:15catching the United States servicemen off guard
19:17in a sneak attack.
19:23Waves of Japanese planes delivered pinpoint payloads,
19:26reducing the base to rubble.
19:31The Japanese pilots had trained them
19:34The Japanese pilots had trained for this mission for months,
19:37but pulled it off with ruthless efficiency.
19:448 a.m.
19:45The first wave of Japanese combat aircraft
19:48attacked Pearl Harbor.
19:53Confusion reigned
19:55as planes erupted all around the harbor.
19:598.15 a.m.
20:01Japanese planes dive-bombed
20:03the decks of the battleship USS Arizona.
20:06The mighty ship burst into flames,
20:08then took over a thousand crewmen to the bottom.
20:13The USS West Virginia was hit by Japanese torpedo bombers.
20:18The USS Ogallala was capsized.
20:228.45 a.m.
20:24The USS Nevada, running for open sea,
20:26was attacked and seriously damaged.
20:28Her captain beached the sinking ship
20:30to avoid blocking the harbor.
20:349.30 a.m.
20:35The second wave of Japanese attack planes
20:37continued their relentless pounding.
20:43By 10.30 a.m., it was over.
20:47By the time the flames subsided and the smoke had cleared,
20:50it was apparent the attack had taken a heavy toll.
20:54Twelve battleships and other warships were sunk or damaged.
20:5810.30 a.m.
21:17188 planes were destroyed.
21:23155 more were taken out of commission.
21:28More than 2,400 Americans were dead.
21:34The psychological wounds to the United States would be everlasting.
21:39The Japanese victory at Pearl Harbor came at a high price.
21:42They had awakened a sleeping giant.
21:45The United States of America declared war on Japan the next day.
21:50I ask that the Congress declare
21:55that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan
22:03on Sunday, December 7, 1941,
22:09a state of war has existed
22:15between the United States and the Japanese Empire.
22:20Recovery efforts would begin immediately.
22:23The battered and beaten fleet at Pearl Harbor
22:25was to rise like a phoenix from the ashes,
22:27exemplifying the resolve of the American people.
22:31Only a week after the attack,
22:33the U.S. undertook one of the largest salvage operations in history.
22:37All but two of the ships that the Japanese had sunk
22:39were eventually raised, retooled, rearmed,
22:42and sent back out to fight.
22:45The memories of the ghosts of Pearl Harbor
22:48were to haunt the Japanese in future battles.
22:55Remember Pearl Harbor became the rallying cry for Americans,
22:59their very incentive for victory.
23:06Three hours after Pearl Harbor,
23:08the U.S. Navy sent out a message to the Japanese
23:12Three hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
23:1536 Japanese bombers dropped powerful fragmentation bombs
23:19on tiny Wake Island, ripping it to shreds.
23:26The attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor
23:29was only part of the first step in the Japanese plan to conquer the Pacific.
23:33By seizing the Central Pacific bases at Guam and Wake Island
23:37and then invading the Philippines,
23:39Japan could then set up a defensive line
23:42around a newly conquered empire overflowing with resources.
23:46They would then be free to take resource-rich Burma, Malaya, Singapore,
23:51and the Dutch East Indies
23:53and secure the necessities of war,
23:56oil, rubber, tin, copper, and lead,
24:00as well as countless human slaves.
24:03On December 8, 1949,
24:06the Japanese attacked Guam and Wake Island simultaneously.
24:10With too few Americans on Guam to put up much resistance,
24:14it fell to the Japanese on December 10.
24:17Day after day, the Japanese bombed Wake Island
24:20as 449 Marines stubbornly defended it.
24:25On December 11, the Marines fought off an attempted Japanese invasion of Guam.
24:30It was the only time in the entire War of the Pacific
24:33that a Japanese amphibious landing was successfully performed.
24:39Over the course of two weeks, with nothing but artillery and a few fighter planes,
24:44the Leathernecks destroyed 21 Japanese aircraft and sank several warships.
24:49The Japanese lost 1,000 men.
24:53December 23, the tiny spot of American soil 2,000 miles west of Honolulu
24:59had been bombarded for 12 straight days.
25:03Another landing brought a much stronger Japanese force
25:06who pushed the Marines back to the center of the island.
25:09There were simply too many Japanese and too few Americans.
25:13The Marines were forced to surrender.
25:16Over 171 Americans had been killed or wounded.
25:24Before the survivors were shipped to China as slave labor POWs,
25:29they were forced to participate in a propaganda film
25:32produced by their Japanese captors.
25:50The Marines' suffering was not in vain.
25:53Their exploits were the rare silver lining in the cloud
25:56that was the total Japanese triumph at the beginning of the War in the Pacific.
26:01Wake Island would hardly be an island paradise for the Japanese.
26:05During the rest of the war, the Americans used it as a training ground,
26:09bombing and shelling it repeatedly while maintaining a total supply blockade.
26:14Of 4,400 Japanese soldiers originally stationed on the island,
26:19only 1,200 were alive when the garrison surrendered on September 4, 1945.
26:30The Japanese war machine had devoured the island nations of the Pacific one by one.
26:34It was now time for the Allies to make a desperate last stand.
26:41By December of 1941, the Japanese had conquered the vast space of the Pacific,
26:4612 million square miles.
26:50Guam, Borneo, Java, the Marianas, the Gilberts, the Dutch East Indies,
26:56Sumatra, all had been crushed.
27:01The Philippines were the crown jewel of the Pacific,
27:07and a victory there would complete the drive to oust the Allies.
27:12The Japanese began their invasion of the outer islands on December 10, 1941,
27:17and on December 22, they came ashore on the northern tip of Luzon.
27:31A devastating air attack was then launched against Clark Field,
27:35wiping out MacArthur's air support.
27:51On December 23, MacArthur, hoping to spare Manila from total destruction,
27:57ordered all Allied troops to evacuate the city.
28:05As Allied forces moved south onto the Bataan Peninsula, defensive positions were set up.
28:16On December 26, Manila was declared an open city, but it was too late.
28:21December 27, the Japanese began a coordinated air and ground attack on Manila.
28:28The city was systematically destroyed.
28:52Japanese combat troops and armored columns poured into the city.
29:02Thousands of civilians died during the attack as Japanese soldiers shot anyone on the streets.
29:22When it was over, stunned residents of the fallen city were forced to welcome their conquerors.
29:43As General Hama, commander of the Japanese invasion force, moved into the presidential palace,
29:49the Filipinos knew their fate.
29:53After securing Manila, commanders laid out plans for their next action.
29:59January 2, 1942, Japanese combat troops began their attack on Bataan.
30:0580,000 Filipino and American troops, along with 26,000 refugees,
30:10endured relentless Japanese attacks during the siege that lasted more than three months.
30:20The American forces retreated to the island of Corregidor, off the coast of Bataan,
30:25and into the imposing 17th century rock fortress.
30:29It was to be their last line of defense.
30:32Corregidor played host to the huge 16-inch guns that zeroed in on Manila Bay.
30:37The American forces retreated to the island of Corregidor, off the coast of Bataan,
30:42and into the imposing 17th century rock fortress.
30:45It was to be their last line of defense.
30:49It was essential for the Japanese to capture the island.
31:01Attack after attack was launched against the island forces,
31:04pounding the American defenses into submission.
31:10It would be only a matter of time.
31:18March 11, 1942.
31:34President Roosevelt, not wanting to gamble with the life of one of his top generals,
31:38gave MacArthur a direct order to leave the Philippines.
31:42The general was reluctant, but on March 11, 1942, under cover of darkness,
31:47he made a mad dash by PT boat for Australia,
31:50vowing to the Filipino people,
31:52I shall return.
31:55April 9, 1942.
31:57Major General Edward King gave the order for the garrison of Bataan to surrender.
32:02His troops, starving and suffering from malaria, complied.
32:08Their suffering hadn't ended, and had only just begun.
32:11The Japanese would make them pay dearly for their stubborn defense of the Philippines
32:15by sending them marching to their deaths.
32:1876,000 Allied prisoners were forced to march for days beneath the blistering sun.
32:23They were not given water.
32:25They were not allowed to stop.
32:27Those who did were shot.
32:28Others were beheaded.
32:30Stop, and you die.
32:32After 10 days and 60 miles, more than 600 Americans and 10,000 Filipinos had died
32:38in what would become known as the Bataan Death March.
32:42In the following months, 1,500 Americans died and 25,000 Filipinos perished.
32:49The situation on Corregidor only got worse for the Americans.
32:53Three days in the beginning of May alone brought 13 separate attacks.
32:58On May 6, the Japanese Navy launched a major assault from Bataan.
33:02The end was drawing near.
33:11Japanese troops swarmed over the weak of American defenses.
33:19U.S. forces fought the invaders to the very last round of ammunition, but to no avail.
33:30May 6, 1942.
33:32The American flag flying over Corregidor was lowered, and the Japanese flag was raised in its place.
33:39After a grueling four-month siege, the last American outpost in the South Pacific had fallen.
33:45The Japanese took 10,000 prisoners, including 3,000 civilians.
34:16Many would die in horrifying agony in prison camps.
34:23Lieutenant General Wainwright was charged with the humiliating task of surrendering the island.
34:37He and his soldiers tasted the terrible bitterness of defeat,
34:41but in their defeat, they had cost the Japanese precious time and resources.
34:46The Emperor had given General Homa 50 days to capture the Philippines.
34:50It took five months.
34:52General Wainwright and his fellow officers, weakened from months of meager rations,
34:56were taken to Tokyo and paraded down the main streets.
35:00Many were to end up in Manchurian slave labor camps, where thousands died.
35:07The Americans had suffered a crushing defeat.
35:09They had lost the decisive opening round in the battle against tyranny in Asia.
35:13The future of freedom looked bleak.
35:26April, 1942.
35:28The aircraft carrier USS Hornet emerged from the fog of San Francisco Bay.
35:33Tied down to her deck were 16 American B-25 bombers.
35:40As the Golden Gate Bridge faded into the distance,
35:43the pilots heard the announcement over the ship's intercom.
35:46This force is bound for Tokyo.
35:5080 Army Air Force volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle,
35:55had gone through the three months of intense training with no idea as to what they were training for.
36:00The mission was an absolute secret.
36:10April, 1942.
36:17On board the Hornet, morale was high.
36:19For the first time in the Pacific conflict, America was on the offensive,
36:23and Tokyo was in her bombsights.
36:32The pilots and crews prepared their aircraft for the attack.
36:40The bombs, destined to be dropped on Tokyo,
36:44were decorated by Doolittle and his crews with medals
36:47the Japanese government had given them in the years before the war.
36:50It was time to send the medals back.
36:54One full day before the planned attack,
36:56a Japanese fishing boat was spotted on the horizon.
36:59With a blistering barrage, it was sent to the bottom.
37:05Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle and his men had no way of knowing
37:08if the fishing boat had radioed the sighting of the Hornet back to Japan.
37:12Doolittle quickly made his decision.
37:14The success of the mission hinged on the elements of surprise,
37:17so the B-25s took to the air a day early.
38:08The pilots' months of specialized training paid off,
38:11as all 16 planes, heavily laden with bombs and extra fuel for the longer flight,
38:17made it off the extremely short runway of the carrier in rough seas.
38:33Admiral Halsey signaled to Doolittle.
38:36To Colonel Doolittle, in his gallant command,
38:39good luck and God bless.
38:43The Japanese foolishly ignored reports of a U.S. warship in the waters.
38:48Doolittle had his surprise.
38:55He and his raiders successfully dropped their 500-pound payloads on Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka.
39:03Doolittle and his men had successfully brought the fight to the enemy's homeland
39:07for the first time in the War of the Pacific.
39:11The altered timetable meant that none of the planes would have enough fuel to make it back to the carrier.
39:16They were forced to fly on to China.
39:19One plane made it to the safety of the Russian allies,
39:22three ditched in the waters off the coast of China.
39:25Eleven crews bailed out and made it to safety of the Chinese-held territory.
39:33One crash landed in a rice paddy and the crew was captured by the Japanese.
39:39They were tortured, interrogated and flown to Tokyo for trial.
40:03The crew was found guilty and sentenced to death by beheading.
40:09In the end, there were no beheadings,
40:11but the crew was forced to a POW camp for the rest of the war.
40:16Eleven of Doolittle's men gave their lives for the mission.
40:21After being shepherded to safety by local Chinese through Japanese-occupied territory,
40:26Doolittle and 68 of his men returned to France.
40:29President Roosevelt personally announced to the press the first attack on the Japanese mainland.
40:36Jimmy Doolittle, the architect of the Daring Raid, was quickly promoted to Brigadier General
40:41and a short time later was awarded the Medal of Honor in June of 1942.
40:48For the first time, America was fighting back.
40:521942, the only road to China led through Burma.
40:56Japan's next move occupied Burma and seized its famous road.
41:05The Japanese, having failed in a full-scale land invasion,
41:09were forced to retreat to the mainland.
41:13The Japanese were forced to retreat to the mainland.
41:17The Japanese, having failed in a full-scale land invasion of China,
41:21settled on isolating and starving the Chinese people, hoping to first surrender.
41:27The 700-mile Burma Road was the sole land route by which the Allied powers
41:32could deliver badly needed supplies including oil, gas, guns and planes to the Chinese island,
41:38which was headed by Chiang Kai-shek and commanded by General Joseph Stilwell.
41:43March 1942, the Japanese set the plan to take Burma and cut the road.
41:49Their first strike was launched from Thailand against Rangoon.
41:57The advance was slowed by the American flying Tigers and elements of the RAF,
42:02but the attack continued.
42:04March 8th, Japanese ground forces entered the city.
42:10Led by dominant air power, the Japanese then swept north.
42:18Under Stilwell's command, two inexperienced Chinese armies marched into Burma
42:23to defend against the Japanese invasion.
42:26Both were nearly annihilated by the crackling fire of the bombs.
42:30During the retreat, General Stilwell personally led over 400 troops, nurses and others
42:36out of the Burmese jungle and into India.
42:39I claim we got a hell of a beating.
42:42We got run out of Burma, and it's humiliating as hell.
42:46I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back and find out.
42:50I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back and find out.
42:55It's humiliating as hell.
42:57I think we ought to find out what caused it, go back and retake the place.
43:03By the beginning of May, the Japanese had taken Lauschau, Mikanau and Mandalay,
43:08cutting off all access to the Burma Road.
43:26By the end of 1942, all of Burma was in Japanese hands.
43:31The Allies could do little but make minor strikes from India.
43:36Now isolated, the Chinese were desperate for help.
43:39With the last major line of supplies cut, the Allied commanders made a bold decision.
43:44They would fly supplies over the treacherous Himalayan mountains
43:47known to Allied pilots as the Hump.
43:50Despite the overwhelming challenges of the mission,
43:53the risky plan to supply the Chinese army by air was a complete success.
43:59The battle for Burma continued on the ground
44:01as Allied special forces operated behind enemy lines.
44:06The battle for Burma continued on the ground
44:08as Allied special forces operated behind enemy lines.
44:20They operated in secret, many supplying only by airdrops.
44:28In western Burma, pioneer jungle fighter Brigadier Charles Wingate
44:32led the Chinooks, a small force of British and Indian guerillas.
44:43Retaking northern Burma was the objective of U.S. Army General Frank Merrill.
44:52After months of training in India,
44:542,400 of Merrill's marauders marched 1,000 miles over frozen mountain peaks
45:00then down into the steaming jungles of Burma.
45:04Operating deep in enemy territory,
45:06the marauders disorganized supply lines and disrupted communications,
45:10clearing the path for the Chinese army.
45:14In 1944, a plan of action was laid out by the Allies to recapture Mekong
45:19and reopen the ground routes to China.
45:23General Stilwell's Lido force, Merrill's marauders,
45:26the Chinooks and the Chinese Yunnan force would attack the Japanese on four fronts.
45:35The battle raged for weeks.
45:49The Japanese took heavy losses before giving up the fight for northern Burma.
45:57The marauders' crowning achievement was the capture of the only all-weather airfield in Burma.
46:03The victory earned them the Distinguished Unit Citation.
46:07The marauders' efforts also provided the Allies the time and the protection
46:12necessary to complete a new road across northern Burma.
46:16The Lido Road now connected China to the outside world.
46:20In one of the greatest engineering feats of World War II,
46:2315,000 troops carved a 1,079-mile-long road out of the mountains,
46:29through the valleys and over the rivers.
46:33Thanks to the tireless effort of the engineers and builders of the Lido Road,
46:37trucks running from India could once again bring supplies into China.
46:41The initiative in Burma now lay with the Allies.
46:45In March 1945, Mandalay fell to combined English and Indian forces.
46:53After weeks of fighting, Rangoon was recaptured in the south.
46:58Four months after the opening of the Lido Road, now called the Stilwell Road,
47:02Allied command announced victory in Burma.
47:05The battle for Burma was over.
47:28The fortunes of the Japanese were about to change
47:31at the Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway Island.
47:41The Japanese stranglehold on the Pacific was tightening.
47:44American forces had surrendered the Philippines.
47:47General MacArthur retreated to Australia.
47:51Japan was ready to launch an amphibious landing on New Guinea.
47:54A Japanese airbase there would threaten northeastern Australia
47:57and support further expansion into the South Pacific.
48:01But the U.S. Navy was tipped off to the Japanese next move.
48:05They had cracked Japanese secret code.
48:08May 7, 1942, Rear Admiral Spruntz was at the head of the task force
48:13prowling the waters of the Coral Sea, looking for the enemy.
48:17He had only two aircraft carriers at his disposal,
48:20the USS Lexington and the USS Yorktown.
48:24Three Japanese carriers, supported by battleships, cruisers and destroyers,
48:29sailed in nearby waters.
48:32The moment was at hand,
48:34when the Japanese carriers set out to meet the American fleet.
48:39For the first time in naval history,
48:41the main ships of the combatants never saw the light of day.
48:44The fighting was done by air attack.
48:47Each side immediately launched an attack from the decks of their carriers.
48:52The assaults continued over the next two days,
48:54and both sides took heavy losses.
49:15Three Japanese carriers in the battle,
49:17the Americans sank one carrier,
49:19seriously damaged another,
49:21and left one unable to fight because of lack of pilots.
49:29Japanese planes repeatedly bombed the Lexington and the Yorktown,
49:33until they were both severely damaged.
49:35Both ships were destroyed,
49:37and the USS Lexington and the USS Yorktown were destroyed.
49:41until they were both severely damaged.
49:43Both ships were forced to withdraw for the night.
49:47A raging inferno broke out on the Lexington,
49:49while it retreated back to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
49:52The crew was forced to abandon the ship,
49:54which was lost at sea.
49:58The USS Yorktown made it back to Pearl Harbor
50:00with severe damage to its flight deck.
50:02In less than a month,
50:04it was repaired and rejoined the carriers Hornet and Enterprise.
50:08The Americans had suffered terrible losses at the Battle of the Coral Sea.
50:12At the same time,
50:13they had gained a victory in the war in the Pacific.
50:17The Japanese were forced to cancel the invasion of New Guinea
50:20due to heavy losses they had sustained.
50:25Japan's plan now was to deliver a fatal blow to the U.S. at Midway,
50:29an atoll 600 miles from Hawaii,
50:31in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
50:33There was only one problem with the secret plan
50:35to take over the rest of the Pacific.
50:37The Americans knew all about it.
50:40Codebreakers were now tracking the movements of the Japanese attack fleet.
50:46When the Japanese faked an all-out assault on the Aleutians,
50:49the U.S. didn't move.
50:51They waited patiently for the attack on Midway Island.
50:5584 ships amassed near Midway
50:57in preparation for Japan's biggest operation since the Civil War.
51:02In the early morning hours of June 4th,
51:04over 400 Japanese aircraft descended on the island.
51:32The bombers caused considerable damage,
51:34but were unable to rout the entrenched American fighters.
51:43Japanese Marines were unable to make their planned landing
51:46on the beaches of Midway.
51:48The Japanese were forced to retreat.
51:50The Japanese were forced to retreat
51:52and the Japanese were forced to retreat.
51:54The Japanese were forced to retreat
51:56and the Japanese were forced to retreat.
51:58Unable to make their planned landing on the beaches of Midway,
52:01the Japanese regrouped to prepare for their second assault,
52:04unaware of the approaching American fleet.
52:10The American carriers then launched their surprise attack on the stunned Japanese.
52:16Wave after wave of American planes pounded the fleet with bombs and torpedoes,
52:20keeping many of the Japanese planes from ever getting there.
52:28BOMBS EXPLODING
52:30BOMBS EXPLODING
52:32BOMBS EXPLODING
52:38BOMBS EXPLODING
52:48BOMBS EXPLODING
52:50BOMBS EXPLODING
52:57As the battle progressed,
52:59the Japanese were unable to overcome the fury of the American attack.
53:04BOMBS EXPLODING
53:07The Japanese aircraft carriers were soon to burst into flames.
53:10They were dealt such a devastating blow
53:12that their fleet was only able to launch a last-ditch attack
53:15before steaming out of harm's way.
53:17Along with the heavy losses of planes and ships,
53:20the Japanese Navy had lost their best chance to knock the U.S. out of the Pacific.
53:30The Americans also paid a heavy price.
53:32The epic clash at Midway Island cost the Americans the USS Yorktown
53:36and would be the Fighting Lady's last hurrah.
53:42The days of Japanese aggression were over.
53:46The Battle of Midway was to be the turning point in the war in the Pacific.
53:50America was now on the offensive.
54:15THE END
54:45THE END
55:15THE END